It’s election time in New Zealand. And you know… Governments love infrastructure pipelines. Pipelines create jobs. Especially for consultants preparing slides about the pipeline. I won’t talk about NZ… today… or maybe I do later… Let’s talk about Nigeria. Yes… Nigeria has been building PPP pipelines for years. On steroids. And you know what happens if you abuse… Well… In 2020, its infrastructure commission reported adding 158 projects. Yes… projects… not speed tickets. This year, the...
about 8 hours ago • 2 min read
Every crossing of a street, I tell my four-year-old son: “Check both sides before crossing.” He normally looks at it for two seconds and says: “Done.” This is not quality assurance. It is confidence. A simple process. One person does the work. Another person verifies it. Apparently, this governance innovation had not yet reached Edinburgh, in the “Ununited Kingdom”. In 2001, the City entered into a 30-year PPP to deliver and maintain a group of new and refurbished schools. Seventeen of them....
about 19 hours ago • 2 min read
I’m a PPP freak. You know… I heard in the news that Ghana will keep 70% of the toll revenue. Excellent. Seventy per cent is a very impressive number. Particularly before anyone asks: Seventy per cent of what? Ghana’s Parliament recently approved a 20-year PPP to introduce electronic tolling across 66 locations. The Government receives 70% of gross toll revenue. The concessionaire receives 30%. Great for a press release, some pictures and ceremonial pats in the back. Percentages are seductive....
2 days ago • 2 min read
1993. Argentina, the losers of the last World Cup. They are pros in Economics. This is why they signed a 30-year PPP with a nine-year business plan. What can get wrong? Nobody knew it was nine years. That was the problem. Or at least, one of them. The project was Aguas Argentinas. At the time, it was the largest water concession in the world. You know… Argentinos tend to exaggerate… a little bit… specially in front of the referee… More than eight million customers. Thirty years. Serious...
3 days ago • 2 min read
Governments love competitive tension. They spend 18 months creating it. Market soundings. RFQs. RFPs. Best and Final Offers… or Optimization Phase in some places… Lawyers, financial models, technical advisers, probity officers… and 143 versions of a contract called FINAL. I love this game! Then they select the preferred bidder. Sign the contract. Open the champagne. Take a photograph wearing hard hats. Book holidays to Fiji. And kill the competition. Because the first auction is over. The...
4 days ago • 2 min read
Private investors love traffic risk. Especially when the government carries it. India wants to revive private highway investment. Its traditional BOT model had collapsed. Less than 5% of highway projects got someone signing a BOT contract. So the government changed the model. Traffic-risk sharing. Revenue support. Government buyback. Suddenly, private investors are interested again. Funny how that happens. Let’s be fair. Sharing traffic risk may be exactly the right decision. Traffic is...
5 days ago • 1 min read
Financial close. Champagne. Photographs. Congratulations. A few speeches about partnership, collaboration and the exciting journey ahead. This phase… and the consequent hangover… normally lasts a couple of weeks. Then you wake up and realise that you have something the size of the Titanic to deliver. And you may have been procrastinating… and drinking and eating too much. You suddenly remember: The document management plan must be submitted within 10 Business Days of Financial Close....
6 days ago • 2 min read
You know I love real estate… Well… Imagine hiring a property manager. Then the tenant still calls you. You chase the unpaid rent. You arrange the plumber. You check whether the repair was completed. And, at the end of the month, the property manager sends you an invoice. It’s not a joke. This happens every day with assets worth billions of dollars. Investors hire people to manage their SPVs. But the investors still have to: Chase the board papers. Coordinate the operator, contractor, lenders...
7 days ago • 1 min read
Twenty years in the market. Dozens of transactions. Deep sector knowledge. Blah, blah, blah… Everyone says they are experienced… until you ask the question. “How much will it cost?” The answer: “It depends.” If you have seen this before you continue to dig in and you’ll see these answers: “We’ll charge based on time incurred.” “We can give you an estimate, but it won’t be binding.” I get it… I’ve been there. Partners. Directors. Senior managers. Managers. Analysts. Look. Everyone is...
8 days ago • 1 min read
